Cupcake Dress_Craft Book Month...

Craft Buds is hosting Craft Book Month, so I'm linking up the Cupcake Dress from "Make It Perfect".

I am so pleased I purchased Toni Coward's Make It Perfect book. Of the twenty one projects in the book, there are fifteen that I want to make. That makes it excellent value for money!!!

Cupcake Dress

I've finished the first of these fifteen projects; the Cupcake Dress. As Toni says in the introduction, this is one of the easiest dresses to make. Cut the bottom off a T-shirt, join three contrasting fabrics to make a skirt, gather, add a ribbon, attach to the T-shirt and the dress is finished.

This is the first of many Cupcake Dresses I will be making. As well as looking great, each dress only requires a small amount of each fabric.

The instructions are detailed and easy to understand. Every step needed to finish the garment is included.

The hardest part of the outfit was the flower brooch that I added. (It's not part of the original pattern in the book.) I'm sure there's an easier way to construct it. This is how I did it:
- Draw a flower shape and trace onto paper.
- Cut two flowers from this pattern.
- With right sides together, sew the flowers together, leaving a small opening.
- Turn and slip stitch the opening.

Cabbage Patch Cupcake Dress

- Hand sew a circle in the middle.
- Gather.
- Attach button and sew onto dress.

I just had to make a matching dress and bag for the Cabbage Patch doll. Sorting through the old baby clothes to find a suitable T-shirt was fun. Instead of a flower, the Cabbage Patch dress has a heart. This time I used a Clover Yo Yo maker, which was so much easier!

Given the fact that Cabbage Patch has a matching bag, there will have to be a matching bag for the Cupcake Dress.

I can't decide whether to do the Champion Cargoes or the Sunny Day Shorts next. With Spring fast approaching, perhaps I'll make it the Sunny Day Shorts. Then again, the Picnic in the Park Capelet looks like it would be a lot of fun. I need more hours in the day.

... with matching knickers

RPC and Wrap Around Dress: Addition

I've made a slight alteration to the Mary Go 'Round dress, by adding an extra button. It seemed to need the extra button to make it sit correctly.

After much deliberation and researching, I have finally started my Retro Pillow. There's lots of work ahead for me and still much for me to learn to enable me to finish the pillow. Here's a photo of fabric I'm using as inspiration for my pillow. I forgot to copy the address of the location of the fabric.

I can clearly remember fabric like this from the 70s. In fact, we had curtains that were made from a very similar material. I've chosen a dark navy for the background and will do the flowers in purples and mauves.

When I bought my fabrics, the lady who owns the shop commented on the fact that I was using colours used by the Amish in their quilts. She was extremely helpful in answering my questions on quilting and even talked me out of buying some fabric. I can remember different textured fabrics from the 70s, such as velours and chenille. The shopkeeper felt that for a first time quilting, the chenille would be too difficult. I was impressed that she cared enough to do herself out of a sale.

At the moment, I'm playing with arranging circles and flower shapes on the dark navy fabric. I wonder if what's in my head will translate to the finished pillow....

Spring...

Daisies...

Spring is the best time of the year for us. The weather is simply perfect outdoors and for me that means gardening. During Summer, we can only garden early in the morning or brave the mosquitoes and garden in the evening. Spring weather enables us to garden all day long, if we so desire.

So, each day I have to make the hard decision; will I garden, sew or both. Yes, I am very lucky to be in such a position.

I like the sentiments expressed on a card I received last week:
Relax and
Enjoy the ride
Try something new
Imagine the possibilities
Remind yourself to play
Expect adventures
Make new plans
Entertain a few wild ideas
Nap without guilt
Take time just for you.

I've only been blogging for one and a half months now and I am enjoying it far more than I initially thought I would. I have discovered so many fabulous blogs with so much information. Almost every day I come across another project to add to my To Do list. This list is growing at a much faster rate than I can keep up with. No matter how much time I have, there is never enough time to do all I want to do.

I've often wondered how people can say they are bored, when there is so much to learn. I aim to always have an ever growing To Do list.

Tohoku Tote Bag...

I'm taking part in UCreate's September Create With Me Project. This month, the project is a the Tohoku Tote bag, by I Am Momma Hear Me Roar.

Cheri gives detailed, easy to follow instructions for the Tohoku Tote. The front panel is pleated first and then cut out. This seems back to front to most patterns, but it works. Mind you, I cut out a rough rectangle first as I was finding the large piece of material quite bulky. I misjudged slightly and my bag ended up about half an inch shorter than intended.

I used a very light fusible interfacing on both the outside and the lining. It gives structure to the finished bag, without being too stiff.

This was my first time using boxed corners. It took me a couple of goes to understand how to do it. Once I understood the concept, it was very easy to do.

Internal zippered pocket...

Internal pockets...

I added two large internal pockets, as described in Cheri's pattern. I also added an internal zippered pocket in the middle of the bag. I still have lots to learn about adding zippered pockets. Adding the zip was no problem. Getting the pocket the right size was not so easy. I made mine the width of the bag, but didn't take the gusset (formed by the box pleat), into consideration. Hence, my pocket is a little large. It doesn't matter, as it's on the inside and just makes the pocket larger, but it doesn't sit as well as I'd like.

Next step was the magnetic snap. This was the first time I'd used these snaps. It was so easy.

Much as I like the bow on the original pattern, I omitted it from my bag. I wanted the focus to be on the fabric I had chosen for the bag and I thought the bow would take attention away from the fabric.

All in all, I'm very happy with my new creation; one more thing I can cross of my To Do list...

What's in a name...

I'm taking part in the Retro Pillow Challenge and it's got me thinking. If I'm going to make a Retro pillow, then I'd better know what Retro really means.

• Wikipedia:  retro generally implies a vintage of at least 15 or 20 years.  The word Retro derives from the Latin Retro, meaning 'backwards' or 'in past times'. 
• About.com: The term retro refers to clothing, style, and design which is outdated. Generally to be considered retro, something must be between 20 and 25 years old. The actual item does not necessarily need to be old, but can be a new item that references styles of the past.
• thefreedictionary.com : retro means denoting something associated with or revived from the past.

But how far back can Retro go? At some point Retro must change to Antique. Wikipedia defines antique as generally being more than 100 years old. That must make the following three objects almost antique, as they date back to the 1910s. The clock, the dresser and the vase all belonged to Mr TMW's grandmother, who was married in 1911. 

So, my take on Retro; something associated with items from 1911 to 1990. However, further research has led me to believe that the term retro became popular after the war and that it referred to something in the recent past. So perhaps, the 1940s to 1980s is, at this point in time, the more accepted time frame of retro.


OK, so now I have the time frame sorted, what's the difference between old fashioned and retro. To me, the 50s to 80s implies old fashioned. I've lived during those times, so when I see old becoming new again, to me it seems old fashioned; something that is an old fashion. Old fashioned seems to imply not being good.  Retro, however, seems to imply it's old, but OK. You can see, I don't quite have the distinction between the two terms.


Here's some pics of fashion for me during my lifetime:

Gingham was popular in the 50s. I envied the teenagers in their gingham twirl skirts, bobby socks and ever so pointy shoes.

I didn't own jeans until the mid 60s. We wore quite formal clothing even on outings and it was always dresses

Early 60s: here I am with my Paul McCartney pendant. Everything was the Beatles.

70s: Clothing from India was all the rage: cheesecloth and hand embroidery. This Indian cheesecloth dress lasted well into the 80s. It made a perfect maternity dress. We wore long, flowing dresses, but it was also the era of the mini skirt. I couldn't possibly show you just how short they were. That fashion needs to stay in the past, same as bell bottoms. Jeans became a standard piece of clothing. That was when my mother refused to do my ironing any more. "If you must wear jeans, you can iron them yourself."... a fair comment.

The 80s brought fluoro and bright colours!!! I made these two outfits for two of my children. As long as it was bright, it was OK.

Another 80s outfit I made, this time for Mr TMW. Can you believe he wore the top to work one day? He was in a job where most wore a shirt and tie. This definitely needs to remain in the past. One of my sons, however, was glad his father kept the outfit. Here is my son in his father's tracksuit at a back to the 80s party. He wouldn't, however, wear the sheepskin ugg boots that Mr TMW used to wear with this bright outfit.

Some old fashions were fabulous and it's great when they resurface. As is evidenced in a few of the photos above, some need to remain in the past.


What does all this have to do with the Retro Pillow Challenge? During some eras, fashion fabrics were similar to furnishing fabrics; sometimes they were not. Sorting through these photos has brought back memories of furnishings at the same times. I have few recollections of furnishings during the 50s and 60s. The 70s I well remember as we were setting up our own home. Orange, orange and more orange, with yellows and browns in strong geometric shapes. Look here for a photo of an orange seat that I made in the 70s. Lime green was also another favourite. These colours were not, however, reflected in clothes of the time. Because I used orange so much in the 70s, I'm not going to reuse it now. I suppose I had too much of a good thing.


The 70s was also the time of psychedelic colours, very often featuring purples. Shades of purple were featured in clothing and furnishings of the time. When I left home, my sister changed our bedroom to shades of purples and mauves; not quite the colour scheme our mother had in mind.  I wore purple clothing at the time, but didn't own any furnishings with purples, 


SO, my Retro Pillow is going to be made in shades of purple. Because I didn't overdo purples in the past, I am happy to have them in my present. Flower Power was also a big thing in the 70s, so my cushion will be covered in flowers. That's enough reminiscing, it's time to get started....

Wrap Around Dress...

A while ago I purchased Mary Go 'Round, a little girls' dress, from Patterns by Figgy's. It's a wrap around dress that is fully lined. There is only one pattern piece, cut twice; one for the right side and one for the lining. The fabric I chose for the right side is Fairy Castle by Fabri Quilt. 

All went well until I misread the instructions. I sewed the lining and the right side armholes together before I turned the dress right side out. Well, of course I couldn't turn it. Yes, the instructions did clearly state not to do that, but I skimmed over that section and misread the next section. Oh well, that's why all machines come with a seam ripper. Some days, mine gets lots of use.

I used store bought bias around the armholes. Next time I might make my own bias to match the lining material, but this time I just used the store bought bias I already had. Apart from my mistake and needing to unpick stitching, sewing the bias was the longest part of the project. As I only had a narrow bias, I thought it would look better if I hand sewed the bias to the inside. As it's a wrap around dress, there are actually three armholes.

My new machine has an automatic buttonhole, which is absolutely fantastic. It's so easy. Using the automatic buttonhole, meant I couldn't put a really large button on like I wanted. I didn't want to fiddle and go back to doing a buttonhole without the automatic stitch, so I chose a slightly smaller button. Perhaps there's a way to do a large buttonhole on automatic. I'd love to know.

I'm happy with the little dress. As usual, Patterns by Figgy's have provided clear and detailed instructions, which are easy to follow (as long as you actually read them). The end result is a cute little dress. As it's fully lined, it will be quite warm. I think it would look good teamed with leggings and a t-shirt.

Edited to add: I've made a slight alteration to the dress, by adding an extra button. It seemed to need the extra button to make it sit correctly. You can see a picture here.

Creative Minds...

I found this fabulous poster on The Creative Paige.  I have printed one for my sewing room. Perhaps I should put one in every room of my house.

Twirl Skirt...

Here is my take on the Twist and Shout Twirl Skirt from One Metre Wonders. I substituted the bias binding at the bottom, with a slightly wider strip of fabric, but not cut on the bias. I also omitted the piping. This was a very quick and easy skirt to make.

To begin with, I was unsure of my fabric choice; Hotflush by Luella Doss & Andrea Schuster for Free Spirit. I wasn't sure whether the colours would be too bright or whether the pattern would suit a small skirt. My fears were unfounded. I am very pleased with the finished skirt.

Two Wins in One Week...

I was lucky enough to win two prizes this week!!! I was thrilled with the first, but today a second win.

Misty at The Creative Itch, hosted a giveaway for a Travel First Aid Kit Pattern. I was lucky enough to be one of two winners to receive a PDF pattern from Fawnda at Fireflies and Jellybeans. The instructions are clear, detailed and easy to follow, with the finished kit being small enough to fit into a handbag. I can't wait to make up this pattern and have added it to my September To Do List. Thanks Fawnda for this fabulous pattern. I'll show you pictures of my kit when I make it.

Fawnda's Travel First Aid Kit...

I woke to my second win this morning. Amy, from Diary of a Quilter, emailed me to say that I had won a $25 Gift Certificate to Shabby Fabrics. This is an awesome win, which I am really going to enjoy spending. Jennifer (from Shabby Fabrics) has so many fabric collections to choose from. At first glance, the Delilah collection pops out at me, but I'm going to take my time choosing. Thanks, Jennifer, for this generous giveaway.

I do, however, have a bit of a dilemma. I've signed up for Stashbusting September over at the T-Shirt Diaries. To sign up, I had to agree that I would not purchase any craft supplies for September. Now, I know that I could leave my Shabby Fabrics voucher until October, but I just can't wait that long. Technically I'm not purchasing anything, as the voucher has been given to me. Besides, by the time the fabric sails over the seas and reaches Down Under, it will almost be October anyway. I've convinced myself. What do you think?